Marchand Makes a Miraculous Recovery After Taking a Hit to the Knee

About the Author

Eric Wilbur is a Boston.com sports columnist who is still in awe of what Dana Kiecker pulled off that one time in Toronto. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and three children. Comments and suggestions for the best Buffalo wing spots are encouraged.

Brad Marchand sure makes it difficult to criticize flopping in the NHL when he pulls stuff like he did Tuesday night in Detroit.

In the second period, with the Bruins holding a 2-0 lead on the Red Wings, Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith was called for tripping on the Bruins forward, who fell to the ice, did a rotation, then grabbed his knee in apparent pain. Marchand had to be helped off the ice in front of 20,066 doubting Thomases who let it be known that they thought he was milking the injury.

The Bruins went on the power play, and only a few moments later, Marchand returned to the ice, apparently having injected himself with the proper dosage of Popeye-recommended can of spinach in the dressing room.

The incident received criticism not only because Marchand’s return was so immediate, but because the forward appeared to favor his right knee when limping off the ice. Smith rammed into his left knee for the penalty. Twitter was abuzz with Detroit fans pointing the finger and Bruins fans rolling their eyes over one of their players pulling an act they love to accuse other teams of transpiring.

“That’s why they’re on Twitter and I’m in the NHL,” Marchand said, according to CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty.

“I tried to jump around him and he clipped me a little bit,” Marchand said of the hit. “It was just more how I landed . So it was the right call.”